Rites for Ten Days, after a Mendicant's Death

Vamadeva said

Kartikeya, a mendicant who has reached liberation is not given to the flames; I have heard that his body is laid in the earth. You are my guru, and out of your affection for me I ask you to explain these rites. Nobody in the three worlds speaks as well as you do. There are those who feel "I am complete" and have slipped out of the cage of the body. They followed the path of worship, and once free of the body they pass to the next world. Illustrious son of Shankara, tell me in particular what becomes of them, and think of me as your own disciple.

Suta said

The son of Shakti, enemy of the asuras, listened to the sage's request and began to speak of the great secret that Bhrigu once heard from Ishvara.

Subrahmanya replied

Sage, this is a secret. The lord who holds the Pinaka, all-knowing, told it himself to Bhrigu, the yogi devoted to Shiva. Brahmana, I will now give it to you, but it must not be spread about. Give it only to a calm disciple who is full of devotion to Shiva.

Consider a mendicant of great patience who leaves his body while absorbed in samadhi, his heart filled with Shiva. He is complete and like Shiva himself. A restless mind can never reach samadhi, so I will tell you what helps such a person. He will have heard from his guru the knowledge in the three Vedas, in Vedanta and in the agama texts, and he must work at yoga, yama and the other limbs. A mendicant who does so settles deep into meditation on Shiva, and through the niyamas his mind comes to rest on Pranava. Yet if the body has grown weak he may not be able to hold on with patience. Free of desire, he then remembers Shiva and lets the worn body go.

By Sadashiva's grace, Nandi sends five well-known divinities to him in the form of messengers. One is the figure of whatever has killed him. A second has a body that is a mass of energy. A third is the deity of the day, a fourth the deity of the bright fortnight, and a fifth the northern course of the sun. All five wish to show him favour. There are five others as well: Dhumra, Tamasvini, Ratri, the deity of the dark fortnight and the southern course of the sun. Vamadeva, hear what they do. For beings bound to action, these five take hold of them and carry them to heaven, where their good merit lets them enjoy pleasures. When the merit is spent they come back to the human world and pass through births as before. These divinities divide the earth into five paths, fire and the others.

A mendicant, though, is taken to the region of Sadashiva. The messengers bow at his feet and stand behind the lord of the gods, and those who urge beings toward action remain there. Sadashiva looks upon the newcomer. If he has no attachment, the lord teaches him the meaning of the great mantra, gives him a body like his own and makes him a ganapati, a leader among the ganas. This is how Sarvesha shows favour. The new ganapati wears a deerskin and carries a trident, with the power to grant boons. He has three eyes and matted hair shining with the Ganga and the crescent moon. He sits on a fine celestial car and can bestow anything desired. Though unattached, he is surrounded by maidens who serve Rudra, with singing and dancing and the sound of the mridanga and other instruments. He is dressed in divine garments, garlands and ornaments, and there are vessels near him filled with amrita and heavenly water. His light is like ten million suns, yet cool like ten million moons. Riding that car, he goes wherever he wishes at the speed of thought, and enjoys all of this until his appetite for enjoyment is used up.

If that does not happen, unconquerable Prakriti throws him down with a fierce spear into a barren place, where a blazing fire like the fire of dissolution burns him until the desire is gone. Then Parameshvara shows him favour and teaches him the meaning of the great mantra. He is filled with the feeling "I am complete, I am the unmoving Shambhu." Shiva grants him samadhi and unbroken siddhis that appear as throbbings, and he receives action, capacity and a form like the sun. Even when the lifespan of the lotus-born Brahma ends he does not have to return, because the guru of the universe gives him final liberation. This destination holds every kind of prosperity, and Vedanta has fixed it as the road to emancipation.

When a mendicant from a good tradition is about to die slowly, those who love him gather around. They hold themselves in check and instruct him in meaningful words beginning with Pranava, and they keep reminding him of Shiva, the attributeless supreme light, who is worthy of worship until the time of dissolution. Once they have assembled, the funeral procedure is as follows. A body without its rites does not reach a good destination. Those devoted to Shiva have given up all action, so if a king dishonours their bodies his kingdom will be ruined and the villagers will suffer great miseries. To prevent this, the following is laid down. The king, humble in mind, begins japa with "nama irinyaya" and ends with "nama amivatkebhyah," finishes with "Aum" and completes the worship of the divinity. Lord among sages, this brings peace and removes any taint. The sons and others must perform the rites too.

Out of my compassion I will describe them, brahmana. The body is worshipped, bathed and purified, then worshipped with flowers and other things. The Rudra Sukta and Chamaka Sukta are recited in order. A conch is set before the body and sprinkled with water, a flower is placed on the head, and the body is wiped while Pranava is uttered. The loincloth and old garments are removed and fresh ones put on. By the rules all the limbs are rubbed with ash and dust, the Tripundra is applied, and a mark of sandalwood paste is made. The body is decorated with flower garlands and, with mantras, garlands of rudraksha beads are placed on the chest, neck, head, arms, wrists and ears. It is perfumed with incense and set on a rope sling, then placed on a fine car that represents the five brahmanas. With "Aum" first, the mantras of the five brahmanas from Sadyojata onward are chanted. The car is hung with fragrant flowers and garlands, and the body is carried around the village with dancing and music while brahmanas chant the Vedas on every side.

Near a holy tree, in a good spot to the north or east, all the mendicants worship the divinity first and then dig a ditch as long as a staff. They sprinkle it with water to the sound of Pranava and the vyahritis, lay shami leaves and flowers in it with their tips toward the east, cover them with darbha grass, and spread the body's seat of cloth, antelope skin and kusha above. The body is sprinkled with the five products of the cow to Pranava and the chanting of the brahman, and again with conch water to the Rudra Sukta. A flower is placed on the head, and the loved ones remember Shiva. Saying "Aum" and words of blessing, they lay the body in the ditch in a yoga posture facing east, adorned with perfumes, flowers, incense and guggula resin. They say, "Vishnu, protect the oblations." The staff goes in the right hand and the water pot in the left, with "prajapate na tvadetanyanyo" and other mantras. While "brahmajajnanam prathamam" is recited the head is touched, with the Rudra Sukta the point between the eyebrows, and with "ma no mahantam" a coconut is used to split the skull into four. Then the ditch is filled.

The one performing the rite touches the spot and repeats the mantras of the five brahmanas with nothing else in mind, starting at "yo devanam" and ending with "the one who is supreme is Maheshvara." In this way he does japa on Mahadeva with Amba, the remedy for samsara, who is all-knowing, subject to no one and the giver of every favour. A platform of earth, two aratnis wide and one high, is built and smeared with cow dung. A square is drawn on it and worshipped with perfumes, unbroken rice, fragrant flowers, bilva leaves and tulasi. To the sound of Pranava, scents, lamps, milk and oblations are offered. After circling, one prostrates five times, does japa of Pranava twelve times and prostrates again. Offerings are made in order in every direction and sub-direction. So I have described the rites through the tenth day. Noble sage, hear now what is done on the eleventh.